Shepherds and their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents all around her, each tending his own portion: Shepherds and their flocksIn the context of ancient Israel, "shepherds" often symbolized leaders or rulers, while "flocks" represented the people they led. The Hebrew word for shepherd, "רֹעִים" (ro'im), conveys the idea of guidance and care, yet here it is used in a foreboding sense. Historically, shepherds were seen as protectors, but in this passage, they are depicted as invaders. This imagery suggests that foreign leaders and their armies will come against Jerusalem, indicating a reversal of roles where those who should protect are now aggressors. will come against her
The phrase "will come against her" signifies an impending attack or siege. The Hebrew verb "בָּאוּ" (ba'u) implies arrival or coming, often with a sense of purpose or intent. In the historical context of Jeremiah, this refers to the Babylonian forces that would besiege Jerusalem. Theologically, it serves as a warning of divine judgment due to the people's unfaithfulness, emphasizing the certainty and imminence of the threat. they will pitch their tents all around her
The act of pitching tents "all around her" indicates a military encampment, surrounding the city completely. The Hebrew word "יַחֲנוּ" (yachanu) means to encamp or settle, suggesting a prolonged presence. This encirclement symbolizes the totality of the siege, leaving no escape for Jerusalem. Archaeologically, such tactics were common in ancient warfare, designed to cut off supplies and weaken the city before an assault. each tending his own portion
This phrase highlights the organized and methodical nature of the besieging forces. The Hebrew "יִרְעֶה אִישׁ אֶת־יָדוֹ" (yir'eh ish et-yado) can be translated as "each will tend his hand," implying that each leader or soldier is responsible for a specific section of the siege. This reflects the discipline and strategy of the invading army. Spiritually, it underscores the thoroughness of God's judgment, as each part of the city is accounted for, leaving no area untouched by the consequences of their actions. Persons / Places / Events 1. ShepherdsIn this context, the shepherds symbolize leaders or rulers who are coming against Jerusalem. They are not literal shepherds but represent those who lead armies or groups. 2. FlocksThe flocks represent the armies or groups of people that the leaders (shepherds) are bringing with them. This imagery suggests an organized and strategic approach to the siege. 3. JerusalemThe city under threat in this passage. Jerusalem is often depicted as the heart of the Jewish nation and the center of worship, making its siege a significant event. 4. SiegeThe event described is a military siege, where the city is surrounded by enemies. This is a common tactic in ancient warfare, intended to cut off supplies and force surrender. 5. TentsThe tents symbolize the temporary encampments of the invading forces, indicating a prolonged presence and a methodical approach to the siege. Teaching Points The Consequences of DisobedienceThe siege of Jerusalem is a direct result of the people's disobedience to God. This serves as a reminder that turning away from God's commands can lead to dire consequences. Leadership and ResponsibilityThe imagery of shepherds leading flocks against Jerusalem underscores the responsibility of leaders. Leaders are accountable for the direction they lead their people, whether towards God or away from Him. God's Sovereignty in JudgmentEven in judgment, God is sovereign. The organized nature of the siege reflects God's control over the events, using them to fulfill His purposes. The Importance of Spiritual VigilanceJust as Jerusalem was surrounded by enemies, believers must remain vigilant against spiritual attacks. This involves staying rooted in Scripture and prayer. Hope in RestorationWhile this passage speaks of judgment, the broader account of Scripture assures us of God's desire for restoration and redemption for those who turn back to Him. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the imagery of shepherds and flocks in Jeremiah 6:3 help us understand the nature of the threat against Jerusalem? 2. In what ways can we see the consequences of disobedience to God in our own lives or communities today? 3. How does the role of leaders in this passage challenge us to consider the influence of leadership in our own contexts, whether in the church, family, or workplace? 4. What steps can we take to remain spiritually vigilant against the "sieges" we face in our personal lives? 5. How can we find hope in God's promises of restoration, even when we face judgment or discipline for our actions? Consider connections to other scriptures that speak of God's mercy and redemption. Connections to Other Scriptures Isaiah 1:8This verse also uses the imagery of a besieged city, highlighting the vulnerability and isolation of Jerusalem due to its disobedience. Ezekiel 34:2-10This passage criticizes the shepherds of Israel (leaders) for their failure to care for the flock, drawing a parallel to the leaders who are now leading the siege against Jerusalem. Matthew 9:36Jesus is moved with compassion for the people because they are like sheep without a shepherd, contrasting the destructive shepherds in Jeremiah with the Good Shepherd. People Benjamin, JeremiahPlaces Beth-haccherem, Jerusalem, Sheba, Tekoa, ZionTopics Bare, Droves, Fed, Feed, Flocks, Keepers, Nigh, Pasture, Pitch, Portion, Round, Sheep, Shepherds, Station, Stricken, Tending, TentsDictionary of Bible Themes Jeremiah 6:3 7786 shepherd, king and leader Jeremiah 6:2-5 7271 Zion, as symbol Library Stedfastness in the Old Paths.
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."--Jer. vi. 16. Reverence for the old paths is a chief Christian duty. We look to the future indeed with hope; yet this need not stand in the way of our dwelling on the past days of the Church with affection and deference. This is the feeling of our own Church, as continually expressed in the Prayer Book;--not to slight what has gone before, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIIA Blast of the Trumpet against False Peace
The motive with these false prophets is an abominable one. Jeremiah tells us it was an evil covetousness. They preached smooth things because the people would have it so, because they thus brought grist to their own mill, and glory to their own names. Their design was abominable, and without doubt, their end shall be desperate--cast away with the refuse of mankind. These who professed to be the precious sons of God, comparable to fine gold, shall be esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 6: 1860 Whitefield -- the Method of Grace
George Whitefield, evangelist and leader of Calvinistic Methodists, who has been called the Demosthenes of the pulpit, was born at Gloucester, England, in 1714. He was an impassioned pulpit orator of the popular type, and his power over immense congregations was largely due to his histrionic talent and his exquisitely modulated voice, which has been described as "an organ, a flute, a harp, all in one," and which at times became stentorian. He had a most expressive face, and altho he squinted, in …
Grenville Kleiser—The world's great sermons, Volume 3 Reprobation.
In discussing this subject I shall endeavor to show, I. What the true doctrine of reprobation is not. 1. It is not that the ultimate end of God in the creation of any was their damnation. Neither reason nor revelation confirms, but both contradict the assumption, that God has created or can create any being for the purpose of rendering him miserable as an ultimate end. God is love, or he is benevolent, and cannot therefore will the misery of any being as an ultimate end, or for its own sake. It is …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology Prefatory Scripture Passages.
To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.-- Isa. viii. 20. Thus saith the Lord; Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.--Jer. vi. 16. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church Jesus Raises the Widow's Son.
(at Nain in Galilee.) ^C Luke VII. 11-17. ^c 11 And it came to pass soon afterwards [many ancient authorities read on the next day], that he went into a city called Nain; and his disciples went with him, and a great multitude. [We find that Jesus had been thronged with multitudes pretty continuously since the choosing of his twelve apostles. Nain lies on the northern slope of the mountain, which the Crusaders called Little Hermon, between twenty and twenty-five miles south of Capernaum, and about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Backsliding.
"I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely: for Mine anger is turned away."--Hosea xiv. 4. There are two kinds of backsliders. Some have never been converted: they have gone through the form of joining a Christian community and claim to be backsliders; but they never have, if I may use the expression, "slid forward." They may talk of backsliding; but they have never really been born again. They need to be treated differently from real back-sliders--those who have been born of the incorruptible …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It An Obscured vision
(Preached at the opening of the Winona Lake Bible Conference.) TEXT: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."--Proverbs 29:18. It is not altogether an easy matter to secure a text for such an occasion as this; not because the texts are so few in number but rather because they are so many, for one has only to turn over the pages of the Bible in the most casual way to find them facing him at every reading. Feeling the need of advice for such a time as this, I asked a number of my friends who …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot Sin Charged Upon the Surety
All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. C omparisons, in the Scripture, are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, only one is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, Behold, I come as a thief (Revelation 16:15) , --common sense will fix the resemblance to a single point, that He will come suddenly, and unexpectedly. So when wandering sinners …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration Scriptures Showing the Sin and Danger of Joining with Wicked and Ungodly Men.
Scriptures Showing The Sin And Danger Of Joining With Wicked And Ungodly Men. When the Lord is punishing such a people against whom he hath a controversy, and a notable controversy, every one that is found shall be thrust through: and every one joined with them shall fall, Isa. xiii. 15. They partake in their judgment, not only because in a common calamity all shares, (as in Ezek. xxi. 3.) but chiefly because joined with and partakers with these whom God is pursuing; even as the strangers that join …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How those who Fear Scourges and those who Contemn them are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 14.) Differently to be admonished are those who fear scourges, and on that account live innocently, and those who have grown so hard in wickedness as not to be corrected even by scourges. For those who fear scourges are to be told by no means to desire temporal goods as being of great account, seeing that bad men also have them, and by no means to shun present evils as intolerable, seeing they are not ignorant how for the most part good men also are touched by them. They are to be admonished …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Jeremiah
The interest of the book of Jeremiah is unique. On the one hand, it is our most reliable and elaborate source for the long period of history which it covers; on the other, it presents us with prophecy in its most intensely human phase, manifesting itself through a strangely attractive personality that was subject to like doubts and passions with ourselves. At his call, in 626 B.C., he was young and inexperienced, i. 6, so that he cannot have been born earlier than 650. The political and religious …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Jeremiah 6:3 NIVJeremiah 6:3 NLTJeremiah 6:3 ESVJeremiah 6:3 NASBJeremiah 6:3 KJV
Jeremiah 6:3 Commentaries
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